Flour-sifter



C. E. BALDWIN.

FLOUPl SIFTER.

APPLICATION FILED Aue. I9. 1920.

Patented N 0V. 16,

2 SHEETS-iHEET l. In Ii If. I@ E c. E. BALDWIN. FLouR SIFTEH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. I9, I 92I J.

UNITED STATES IPari-:NT oFFIcE.

CHARLES E. BALDWIN,'0F ocoN'i'o, WISCONSIN, AssIGNoR'oF ONE-FOURTH To InvING BREAKsToNE, or ocoNTo, WISCONSIN.

FLOUR-SIFTER. y

Specification of Letters atent. Patented NOV. 16, 1920.

Applicationled August 19, 1920. Serial No. 404,503.

To all whom it may concern: l

Be it known that I, CHARLES E'. BALDWIN, a citizen of the United States, residingat Oconto, in the county -of Oconto and State of lVi'sconsin, have inventedcertain new and The principal object of the invention is to provide a flour sitter which will effectively sift flour at a single operation, the sifter being provided with a plurality of sifting screens and agitators therefor so that the lourvwill be sifted successively through the various screens. I

lAnother object of the invention is to provide a. flour sifter in which Vthe screens and agitators are removable as a unit from the casing or container of the sifter, thereby permitting the various parts of the device' to be easily cleaned. v A further'object of the invention is to provide a iour sifter in 'which a plurality of screens and agitators are removable from the casing or vessel of the device as a unit, and-the screens and agitators being Separable so that any part of the device may be repaired or replaced by a new part lshould that become necessary.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a fiour sifter of this character, the majority of the parts of which are formed of sheet metal, the device being comparatively simple, strong, durable and inexpensive in construction, efficient and reliable in operation, and adapted to the purpose for which it is designed. With these and other incidental objects in view, the invention consists of the novel features of construction,

and the combination and arrangement ofl parts as are hereinafter fully described and claimed.

designate like parts throughoutA the several views.

`In these drawlngsz- Flgure 1 1s a perspective view of a comlare provided with plete flour sifter constructedin accordance with the invention;

y Fig. 2 is a central vertical sectional view of the sifter;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view there` of taken substantially on the plane indicated by the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. i is a detail vertical sectional view of aportion of the sifter taken substantially gn th2e plane indicated by the line 4.-4 of Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the screen and agitator unit;

Fig. 6 is. a similarmview ofone of the screens or sieves;

F1g. 7 1s a perspectlve lview of one of the clamps which is used to hold the agitator arms upon theoperating shaft; and

y Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the lower horizontal member of the screen and agitator frame. i

In the embodiment illustrated the numeral 1 designates a casing or vessel which is of cylindrical shape and which is provided with two pairs of oppositely disposed vertically extending grooves 2 on its inner side, Said grooves 2 being formed by stamping the material of the vessel so that the outer side thereof has vertically extending. ridges. The upper and lower edges of the vessel 1 between the grooves 2 are doubled upon 'themselves as at 3 for the purpose of `strengthening thel vessel. As a further means of strengthening vessel 1 its wall between adjacent grooves 2 is pressed outwardly. at a number of equidistant points between its upper and lower edges to form horizontal ridges 4. The vessel-1 .is open at both the top and bottom.. Theouter walls of the grooves .2 at their lower ends inwardly extending ledges 5, the purpose of which is hereinafter f described.

Fitted within the vessel 1 is'a framewhich carries a plurality of screens or sieves and comprises a pair of upright members or bars 6 integrally united at their upper end by means of' a horizontal cross-bar 7. The side or longitudinal edges of thebars 6 are turned inwardly as at 8 so as to provide to the lower sides of the Wings 13 in any suittheir inner sides with undercut channels. To the lower ends of the bars 6 is connected a horizontal cross-bar 9. This cross-bar 9 is of inverted V-shape in cross section and has its longitudinal edges doubled uponthemselves for-the purpose of strengthening the bar. The ends of the bar 9 are provided With upwardly extending wings 10, which itin the channels formed of the inturned .edges 8 of the bars 6. -The upper cross-bar 7 is provided at a point midway its ends with an aperture l1,I While the lower crossbar 9 is similarly provided with an aperture 12. v

The rectangular frame carries a number of sieves composed of rings or rims 13 provided With tWopairs of oppositely disposed and vertically extending Wings 14. Clamped able manner but preferably by fianges l5 are lscreens 16, the central portions of which are provided With eyelets 17. One of the pairs of the Wings 14 extend upwardly from the rims 13 for disposal inthe channels formed by the inturned edges 8 of the bars 6, While the other pairs of the Wings 14 extend down- Wardly from the rims 13 and are received in the undercut channels formed at the inner side of supplemental bars 18. The channels inthe bars 18 are formed by bending their side 0r longitudinal edgesv inwardly as at 19.

'The bars 18 are considerably shorter than the bars 6.

After the various sieves have been slid in place in the channels of the bars 6 and in vthe channels of the bars 18, the inturned edges 8 and 19 of the bars 6 and 18 respectively are pressed tightly against the wings 14 and the sieves are thereby locked more or less rigidly in place. The verticallyextending'vvings 14 ofone sieve abuts the rim A13 of the adjacent sieve so that by this means the sieves are maintained in equally spaced relation. If desired, the wings 14 may have their outer edges doubled` uponthemselves as indicated at 2O for the purpose of strengthening said Wings.

Extending through the apertures 11 and 12 in the cross-bars 7 and 9 respectively and through the eyelets 17 in the sieves is a shaft 21, the upper end of which is'bent at vright angles and provided at its extremity with an operating knob 23 Whilethe lower end ofthe shaft 2-1 extends through a washer 24 and is then-upset or swaged as at 25 to prevent it from becoming disengaged from the Washer. vThe Washer 24 extends across the space between the lower edges of the bar 9 and forms a projection at this point,

so that the shaft 21 is thereby prevented from vertical movement.A

The shaft 21 carries a number of agitators, one of which is disposed above each of the sieves. These agitators are formed of pairs of substantially V-shape pieces of wire 26 divided state.

connected at their intermediate portions to 4the shaft 21 by means of clamps 27. The

sieves andafter the desired adjustment has i been made the portions of the shaft 21 are upset or swaged so as to maintain this adjustment. e

In assembling the device the sieves are first connected in succession to the bars 18 and then they are' slid into the channels formed by the inturned edges 8 of the bars 6. The agitators are then placed above the sieves and the ,shaft 21 is inserted through the opening l1 in the upper cross-bar 7, through the openings in the agitators and sieves and through the opening 12 in the cross-bar 9. The Washer 24 is then placed upon the lowei end of the. shaft 2l andthe shaft is then upset at thefportion 25. vThe agitators' are then vpressed more or less tightly against the sieves and the shaft 21- grooves 2, While the bars 18 are slid into the'other tWo oppositelyV disposed grooves 2. The ends of the bars 6 and 18 are rested upon the aforementioned `ledges or projectionsV 5 arranged at thelower ends of the4 grooves 2. e

In operating the device flour is poured into the upper 'end .ofthe vvessel 1 and the shaft 21 .is turnedby means of a knob 23. Flor: will thereby be sifted successively through the various sieves. and will pass ont of the lower end of the'vessel in a finely In view ofv the fact that it undergoes a number of sifting operations, it will not have to be passed through the sifter a-'second time to prepare it for use as is the case With the usual type offlour sifter. The cross-bar 9 being of the inverted V-shape formation in a cross section forms no place for any Hour to lodge after being sifted but the flour after being sifted Will pass'unobstructed*through the lower end of "the vessel 1.'

Vhenever it is desired to clean the device,

thel frame carrying the sieve and agitators can be removed as a unit from the -vessel 1.

repairing or to be replaced by new parts, the same can be readily done as all of the parts of the device can be separated.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with thel accompanying drawings, it will be seen that the objects of the invention have been-effectively carried out. It is apparent that minor details ofconstruction, and in the proportion and arrangement of parts maybe modified with- -out departing from the spirit and principle of the invention, and such changes are per-- mitted within the scope of the pending claims.

I claim:

l. A -flour siftei comprising a vessel open at the top and bottom and provided onfits interior with a pair of vertically extending grooves, an openI rectangular frame slidable vertically in saidv grooves and removable from said vessel, a pluralityT of superimposed sieves provided at their edges with upright wings disposed fiat against the upright portions of said frame and fastened thereto, agitators disposed adjacent said sieves, and an upright shaft extending through said frame and through said sieves and carrying said agitators, said shaft being provided with means by which it may be manually rotated.

'2. A flour sifter comprising` a vessel open at the top and bottom and provided on its interior with a pair of oppositely disposed vertically extending grooves, an open rectangular frame having upright bars slidable vertically in-said grooves and removable from said vessel, the said bars being provided on their inner sides with longi tudinal extending undercut channels, a plurality of superimposed sieves provided at their edges with upright wings disposed and frictionally maintained in said channels, agitators disposedadjacent said sieves, and a shaft xtending vertically through said frame and through said sieves and said agitators and carrying said agitators, said shaft being provided with means whereby it may be manually rotated.

3. A flour sifter comprising a vessel open at the top and bottom and provided on its inner side with a.. pair of oppositely disposed vertically extending grooves, an open rectangular frame having oppositely disposed vertical bars slidably received in said grooves, the longitudinal 'edges of said bars being bent inwardly upon themselves -to form vertically extending undercut channels at the inner sides of said bars, sieves provided at their edges with upright wings received in said channels and frictionally engaged by the inturned edges of said lupright bars, agitators disposed adjacent saidl sieves, and a shaft extending vertically through said frame and through said sieves and carrying said agitators, said shaft being provided with means whereby it may be mannally rotated.

l. 4. A-iour sifter comprising a vessel open at the top and bottom and provided with two pairs of oppositel'y disposed vertically extending grooves on its inner side, an open rectangular frame having oppositely disposed vertical bars slidably received in a pair of said oppositely disposed grooves, another pair of oppositely disposed vertical bars slidably received in the other pair of oppositely disposed grooves, sieves provided at their rims with upright wings attached to said bars, agitator-s disposed adjacent said sieves, and a shaft extending vertically through said frame and through t posed vertically extending grooves, an open rectangular framehaving oppositely disposed vertically extending bars slidably received in a pair of said oppositely disposed grooves, an additional pair of oppositely disposed vertically extending bars slidably received in the other pair of oppositely disposed grooves, the longitudinal edges of said bars being bent inwardly upon themselves to provide undercut channels on their inner sides, sieves provided at their rims with upright wings disposed in said channels and frctionally engaged by said inturned edges'of said bars, agitators disposed adjacent said sieves, and a shaft vextending vertically .through said frame and through said sieves and carrying said agitators, said shaft being provided with means whereby it may be manually rotated.

6. A iiour sifter comprising a vessel open at the top and bottom and provided on its inner side with a pair of vertically extending oppositely disposed grooves` an open rectangular frame having` vertical side bars slidably received in said grooves, the lower cross-bar of said frame being of inverted V-shape in cross section, a plurality of superimposed sieves secured at their rims to said side-bars,`agitators disposed adjacent said sieves, and a shaft extending vertically the lower ends of said Vertical bars, said lower cross-bar being of inverted V-shape in cross. section, a plurality of superimposed sieves secured at their rirfs of said vertical bars, agitators disposed adjacent said sieves, and a shaftextending through said frame and through said sieves and carryingr said agitators, said shaft being provided with -means whereby it may be manually rotated. 8. A flour sifter comprising a vessel, a sieve mounted in said vessel, a shaft mountved in said vessel, a clamp carried by said shaft adjacent said sieve, said clamp consisting of a plate containing an aperturev through which said shaft extends and four radial arms, and a pair of V-shaped members having their intermediate portions disposed adjacent a pair of adjacent arms and the latter being` bent there-around to clamp said members thereto, the arms of-said members operating,` across sadsieve.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES E. BALDWIN. 

